Attracting Postdoctoral Researchers in any Research Field to the Basque Country

Project Information

WOLFRAM2

Grant agreement ID: 101034228

DOI

10.3030/101034228

EC signature date 29 April 2021

Start date 1 January 2022

End date 31 December 2027

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 7 944 480,00

EU contribution

€ 3 972 240,00

Coordinated by

FUNDACION IKERBASQUE-IKERBASQUE FUNDAZIOA
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - WOLFRAM2 (Attracting Postdoctoral Researchers in any Research Field to the Basque Country)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

WOLFRAM2 is framed around an already well and successfully established postdoctoral fellowship programme in the Basque region which will run for 72 months. Within the programme, the beneficiary, Ikerbasque, will offer 36 fellowship positions for incoming postdoctoral fellows. Each fellowship/contract will last for 60 months, being implemented in the framework of WOLFRAM2 at least 36 months. The remaining fellowship duration not covered by WOLFRAM2 will be fully taken over by the hosting institutions and Ikerbasque in all terms (financial, training and supervision). Fellows will be able to carry out their projects in any of the 24 partner organisations hosting them. Each fellowship will be complemented by a secondment of up to 6 months (can be split in two or three shorter stays) at institutions outside of Spain, from a different sector, and of the fellows’ choice in line with their career development plan.

WOLFRAM2 offers fellowships to candidates from all nationalities according to the MSCA mobility criteria (see below), and with a wide range of research options. We guarantee an open, fair, transparent and merit-based selection and evaluation procedure, based on the quality of the applicants’ CVs and the innovative project proposed. Candidates have the freedom to choose their host institution according to their scientific profile and career development plan in line with the MSCA principle of freedom of choice for subject and destination.

The goal of WOLFRAM2 is to equip candidates with professional training opportunities in core scientific, complementary scientific and transferable skills in order to ensure a high-level impact for their future careers both in and outside the academic sector. This is in line with the European Commission’s policy goals for training researchers to tackle future societal challenges. WOLFRAM2, covering such a broad thematic spectrum, e.g. in environmental sciences or life sciences, will definitely contribute both in the formation of a pool of skilled researchers doing their part in fulfilling the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and in the implementation of the RIS3 strategy of the Basque Country.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

By end of the second periodic report (31/12/2025) IKERBASQUE has achieved the set objectives in terms of number of calls launched and fellows recruited.

4 WOLFRAM2 calls were launched and implemented and by month 48 of the project execution, a total ofg 33 researchers have been recruited.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Europe is in need of highly skilled researchers. WOLFRAM2 is directly contributing to this need by recruiting excellent junior researchers and equiping them with the skillset to answer to the need of the European Research and Innovation Area.

Furthermore, WOLFRAM2 is also aligned with the latest report by the EC (May 2020) – “Science, Research and Innovation Performance of the EU 2020 – A fair, green and digital Europe”, which has outlined the following “An adequate supply of skilled human resources is vital for knowledge absorption and for the development of science and technology-intensive economic sectors.

On top of these key priorities, the COVID-19 pandemic particularly damaged the career of early career researchers in Europe. The reference journal NATURE published and editorial in June 2020 calling for specific actions to mitigate the impact of the pandemic in this target group . NATURE outlined the following “It is also worrisome that job opportunities for Early Career Researchers are rapidly diminishing during the pandemic. Academic institutions are facing unprecedented financial challenges (…). Efforts to counteract these challenges, for example hiring freezes, slowdowns in hiring and/or salary reductions may persist for years. Moreover, the international nature of the COVID-19 pandemic is adding barriers for those who require a visa and/or international travel to continue their careers”. For sure, WOLFRAM2 is contributing to counteract these challenges thanks to the 33 international researchers already recruited that complied with the mobility rule.

The European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers (Eurodoc) also published a statement named “The aftermath of the pandemic for early career researchers in Europe” , which outlines the following: “A European post-pandemic plan for early-career researchers. We hope that European institutions will be up to the challenge, and we call on them to elaborate a post-pandemic plan for early career researchers in Europe. The future of European early career researchers is the future of European research: we cannot afford to lose a generation of them. New challenges are ahead, and we need to be equipped to confront and overcome them.” Therefore, IKERBASQUE Foundation, through WOLFRAM2, is definitely contributing with its own early career researcher’s recruitment plan.
Moreover, the potential and future career perspectives of WOLFRAM2 research fellows will be significantly enhanced through the training goals:
• Free choice of their projects and host institution.
• Full integration into high-quality host institution and research groups under top-notch supervision.
• High-level scientific and training infrastructure.
• A bespoke training and career development programme with emphasis on transferable skills.
• Ample networking opportunities taking into account the triple-I dimension.
• Outlook on Open Innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Impact on the region.
Thanks to the developed skills and capacities, fellows will be able to become team leaders, develop their own research visions and access competitive funding opportunities and further job offers.

Call dissemination